Friday, October 16, 2009

The Utah Army National Guard’s 1-211th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion has received upgraded AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters to replace the AH-64A models currently in use.

The aircraft began arriving in the state late last week, and the next group of four helicopters are expected to arrive here at the Aviation Support Facility Oct. 15.

Lt. Col. James Bledsoe, commander of the 1-211th, said the “D” model Apache Longbow helicopter represents a significant improvement over the “A” model and is four times more lethal and seven times more survivable than the AH-64A.

The new helicopters have glass cockpits with multifunctional displays, upgraded night-vision systems, fire-control radars and improved situational awareness, said Bledsoe.

“These helicopters bring greater capability and survivability to the 1-211th,” said Bledsoe. “The new aircraft looks similar from the outside but is a completely different aircraft when sitting in the cockpit. “

Once the transition is completed, the Utah Guard will have 24 Longbow helicopters in its inventory.

It was build to reduce noise to communities nearby. The vehicle pictured is the M109G 155mm self-propelled howitzer.

There was some debate as to whether these photos were real. After some dismissal, the military guys started writing on the subject, here is one poster:

I actually saw one of these. It is a silencer (muffler) and it is German -- you can (sort of) make out the black cross on the side of the howitzer outlined in white, plus they do use that cammo.

This is a static firing range -- allows the Howitzer to live fire, and allows enough movement of the barrel that they can hit or miss the target, so they can see how accurate the crew is... But at the same time, muffles the sound, because like all of Germany, there is a town or village nearby that they don't want to disturb with the constant sound of live fire heavy artillery practice.

I have a hint: are the inner-cities (where most of the out-of-wedlock and teen pregancies are focused) like Chicago, Detroit, or L.A. mostly liberal populations with liberal city-councils foisting all sorts of sex-ed on kids... priming the pump, so-to-speak? Let's view an electoral map: